The Falcons made a handful of costly mistakes in this game:
letting a screen pass go 56 yards for a touchdown, letting Devon
Hester get 53 yards on another short pass, and giving up another
touchdown to Brian Urlacher on a fumble-sack. Take away even two of
those mistakes, and this is a much closer game, and one that the
Falcons could have easily won.

Lions @ Buccaneers

Another game that tends to confirm my preseason evaluations. The
Lions can't be real happy about nearly letting this one slip away,
but it's a good sign that they were able to hold on to a win on the
road.

Giants @ Redskins

The Giants plain got out-played in this game. Rex Grossman had a
career day against their defense, and their offense couldn't move
the ball—just 3 drives longer than 19 yards.

Bengals @ Browns

The Browns just aren't good enough to win when they only score 17
points. Especially when the defense lets Cedric Benson run up and
down the field.

Split Picks: (Pythag: 1-3, Line: 3-1)

Raiders (Pythag) @ Broncos (Line)

The Broncos lack of rushing defense strikes again: 190 yards
allowed, including 150 by Darren McFadden. An interception and two
lost fumbles ended drives that could have given the Broncos the
points they needed to win.

Titans (Pythag) @ Jaguars (Line)

The two things that stand out to me in this game is the lack of
production from Chris Johnson (9 carries for 24 yards), and the
Titans 3rd down conversion rate (4 of 11). On the other side, Luke
McCown didn't do anything disastrous, the Jaguars rushed for 163
yards, and converted 9 of 18 3rd downs. Not the most amazing
performance this week, but it was enough to get the Jaguars by the
Titans.

Colts (Pythag) @ Titans (Line)

No prizes for guessing that the Colts would struggle without
Peyton Manning, or that Kerry Collins would look very rusty after
missing almost the whole preseason. Still, that was even worse than
I was expecting. If Collins had not fumbled twice, and the Colts
special teams had not given up a touchdown... well, at least the
Texans would've had to play into the second half to win the game.

Steelers (Pythag) @ Ravens (Line)

An ugly game for the defending AFC Champions. The headline has
been the Steelers' seven turnovers, but their defense wasn't
stopping the Ravens' offense even when they needed to drive the
field. The good news for the Steelers is they now have a pretty
soft stretch in their schedule, and will have every chance to get
things fixed before the rematch in week 9.